US Def Secy issues first response on shooting of 'spy' balloon, China slams 'overreaction'

The US military on Saturday shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it flew over sensitive military sites across North America, confirmed US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin in a statement. Calling it a "high-altitude surveillance balloon", Austin said that the balloon was being used by China "in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental US". China had insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian aircraft and threatened repercussions.

An F-22 Raptor fighter from the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, fired one AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at the balloon. The balloon fell approximately six miles off the coast in about 47 feet of water. "No one was hurt," said the statement. 

"This afternoon, at the direction of President Biden, US fighter aircraft assigned to US Northern Command successfully brought down the high altitude surveillance balloon launched by and belonging to the People's Republic of China (PRC) over the water off the coast of South Carolina in US airspace," Lloyd Austin said in the statement. Austin added that US President Joe Biden gave his authorization to take down the surveillance balloon "as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to American lives under the balloon's path."

Thanking the Canadian co-operation, Austin expressed, "This action was taken in coordination, and with the full support, of the Canadian government. And we thank Canada for its contribution to tracking and analysis of the balloon through NORAD as it transited North America." 

"Today's deliberate and lawful action demonstrates that President Biden and his national security team will always put the safety and security of the American people first while responding effectively to the PRC's unacceptable violation of our sovereignty," he added.

China criticises US for "obvious overreaction"

China responded that it reserved the right to “take further actions” and criticized the US for “an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice.” In its statement Sunday, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “China will resolutely uphold the relevant company’s legitimate rights and interests, and at the same time reserving the right to take further actions in response.”

China has claimed that the balloon was merely a weather research “airship” that had been blown off course. The Pentagon rejected that out of hand — as well as China’s contention that it was not being used for surveillance and had only limited navigational ability, reported AP. 

The Pentagon also acknowledged reports of a second balloon flying over Latin America.